Richard Stone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Ambassador to Denmark | |
| In office February 10, 1992 – October 14, 1993 | |
| President | George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Keith Lapham Brown |
| Succeeded by | Edward Elliot Elson |
| United States Senator fromFlorida | |
| In office January 1, 1975 – December 31, 1980 | |
| Preceded by | Edward Gurney |
| Succeeded by | Paula Hawkins |
| 16thSecretary of State of Florida | |
| In office January 5, 1971 – July 8, 1974 | |
| Governor | Reubin Askew |
| Preceded by | Thomas Burton Adams Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Dorothy Glisson |
| Member of theFlorida Senate from the 48th District | |
| In office March 28, 1967 – November 3, 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Redistricted |
| Succeeded by | Bob Graham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Bernard Stone (1928-09-22)September 22, 1928 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 28, 2019(2019-07-28) (aged 90) Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Columbia University (LLB) |
Richard Bernard Stone (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician who served as aDemocraticUnited States Senator from Florida from 1975 to 1980 and later served asAmbassador at Large toCentral America andAmbassador to Denmark. Before running for the U.S. Senate he served asFlorida Secretary of State.
In1980, Stone lost renomination toBill Gunter, theTreasurer, Insurance Commissioner and Fire Marshal of Florida.
Stone was born inNew York City, the son of Lily (Abbey) and Alfred Stone, who was born inBelgium.[1] His family was Jewish.[2] He moved toFlorida and attendedpublic schools inDade County. Stone graduatedcum laude with aB.A. fromHarvard University in 1949. There he became a member ofTau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.[3] He received aLL.B. fromColumbia Law School in 1954,[4][5] returned to Florida, was admitted to theFlorida Bar in 1955, and began practicing law inMiami.
In 1966, Stone becameMiami City Attorney and was elected to theFlorida Senate in 1967, representingDade County.[5] In 1970, he was electedSecretary of State of Florida.[5] He resigned in July 1974, before his term ended, to focus on his campaign for the U.S. Senate.[6]
In1974, Stone ran in an 11-candidate Democraticprimary election.CongressmanBill Gunter finished first but Stone won a close subsequentrunoff, 51% to 49%.[4] On theRepublican side,incumbent SenatorEdward Gurney chose not to run for re-election after beingindicted for allegedly takingbribes in return for hisinfluence with theFederal Housing Administration.[4]MillionaireEckerd drug store chain owner,Jack Eckerd, defeatedPaula Hawkins for the Republican nomination. In thegeneral election, Stone narrowly defeated Eckerd in a race that saw theAmerican Party candidate, John Grady, claim nearly 16% of the vote. Stone was the second Jewish U.S. Senator from Florida (afterDavid Levy Yulee) and the first since theU.S. Civil War.[7][8] Outgoing Senator Gurney resigned on December 31, 1974, and Stone was officially appointed senator by GovernorReubin Askew on January 1, 1975, two days before his term was scheduled to begin.
During Stone's term in the U.S. Senate, he was a member of theForeign Relations Committee and was a strong advocate for thePanama CanalTorrijos–Carter Treaties.[9] He also voted forneutron bomb funding,deregulation ofnatural gas, and public funding of congressional campaigns, and voted against an early version of theKemp–Roth Tax Cut and funding medically necessaryabortions.[4] He led efforts to secure congressional aid forIsrael and also served as an important advisor during the 1978Camp David Peace Treaty.[7] In addition to the Foreign Relations Committee, Stone served on theAgriculture Committee.[4]
At the onset of his term, Stone was one of threeJewish members of the U.S. Senate along withJacob Javits andAbraham Ribicoff.[10]
With a reputation for changing his mind and with theAFL–CIO actively campaigning against him, Stone was deemed vulnerable in his reelection bid.[4] Six Democrats entered the race for Stone's seat including his 1974 runoff opponentBill Gunter who wasFlorida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner in 1980.[4] As was the case in 1974, Stone and Gunter were forced into a runoff but, unlike 1974, Gunter won the nomination in 1980. (Gunter was defeated byPaula Hawkins in thegeneral election). Stone resigned three days early on December 31, 1980.
Senator Stone was included onPresident-electRonald Reagan's transition team the day after the 1980 elections.[11] From 1981 to 1982, he was senior resident partner at thelaw firm ofProskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn inWashington, D.C.[5] During that time, theSpanish-speaking Stone[12] worked as a paidlobbyist for the right-wingGuatemalan government ofFernando Romeo Lucas García.[9] On January 19, 1982, Stone was named as ViceChairman of the President's Commission for Radio Broadcasting toCuba.[13] He was also vice chairman of the board of Capital Bank of Washington.[5] In February 1983, Stone served in theDepartment of State as Special Representative of the President for Public Diplomacy inCentral America.[5]
On April 28, 1983, President Reagan announced Stone's appointment asAmbassador at Large andSpecial Envoy toCentral America. Despite concerns over his recent ties with the oppressive right-wing Guatemalan government and how he would be perceived by the leftistFMLN ofEl Salvador, Stone was confirmed and commenced the position on May 26.[5][9][14][15][16] Stone was once a paid lobbyist for the conservative Guatemalan government of Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia. This made Democrats argue that he was ill-suited to be President Reagan's appointee to be Ambassador at Large for Central America, a role that required negotiation with the leftist government of El Salvador and other administrations.[17] He resigned effective March 1, 1984, allegedly after experiencing personality conflicts withAssistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs,Langhorne A. Motley.[18][19][20] Stone continued working with Capital Bank ofWashington, D.C. and, in 1989, was namedchief operating officer.[21] On November 9, 1991, he was nominated by PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush to beU.S. Ambassador to Denmark.[21] The nomination was successful and Stone served from November 21, 1991, to October 14, 1993.[22]
On December 28, 1995, Stone was appointedvoting trustee for the discount drug store business,Dart Drug, which was owned byHerbert Haft and embroiled in a widely publicized family dispute.[23] On September 24, 1997, Haft and Stone voted to appoint Stone as actingchief executive officer and, in February 1998, Stone was named chief executive officer.[23] By mid-1998, Dart Group was sold toRichfood.[24]
Stone married the former Marlene Lois Singer on June 30, 1957 and they had three children and five grandchildren. Marlene Stone died on August 29, 2008.[5] He died on July 28, 2019, inRockville, Maryland, from complications of pneumonia and other illnesses.[25][2] At the time of his death, he resided in theChevy Chase neighborhood of Maryland.[2]
bill gunter richard stone.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Florida 1971–1974 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Florida 1975–1980 Served alongside:Lawton Chiles | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Denmark 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forSecretary of State of Florida 1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic Party nominee forUnited States Senator fromFlorida (Class 3) 1974 | Succeeded by |
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| People | |
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